The Only Way Out
by sheikbloop
Summary: Faith was alone now; no Merc, no Runners...no Kate. But she was going to get her sister back, no matter the cost. (Basically the ending - I apologize deeply for my lack of creativity, but who knows? You might enjoy it!)


She'd been running for days.

She always ran, but this was different – it was no longer running to a destination, to hand off a pack to another rebel in red. This was a race against time, against odds, against everything she'd prepared for ever in her life. She was alone now, too. Merc was dead in body, Celeste was dead in spirit, and Kate…Kate was gone.

She was the reason Faith was sprinting throughout the building, jumping from wall to wall and climbing over every obstacle in her path. The world around her was a blur of fluorescent lights and the color blue as she sped to the rooftop. Each step and leap and slide she made took her a little closer to her sister, and she wouldn't stop until Kate was safe in her arms.

She'd never felt so lonely in her life, but she didn't process the feeling. The only things she could focus on were her feet and hands, where she would jump and where she would crawl, when to fight and when to flee. And Kate. She hoped her sister was alright. If she wasn't…

…well, she didn't want to think about that.

The Runner took one last glance behind her; this part of the Shard was littered with bullets, bodies, and guns. Most were told to evade any police forces they encountered, but the situation had changed. They were in her way. They paid dearly for that.

She'd never really killed before this. She avoided combat whenever she could, but in the last few days, she'd taken the life of too many people to count, gunning them down or using her melee skills to take them out. She supposed that she was supposed to feel guilty – but the truth was, she only felt angry. The men she'd killed had turned her comrade against her, taken her sister, murdered her friend, and it was more than fair of her to return the favor by delivering justice.

_Right?_ That was what she told herself when she saw the bullet holes in the patrols' armor. It helped to pacify her nerves.

Faith turned back around and stared at the door in front of her. Without a second thought, she took a deep breath and threw herself into it.

It flew open, revealing the city lights that drowned out the stars above. A good Runner always surveyed her surroundings, but the path was already clear; Jacknife and Kate were right beyond the stairs.

He was holding a gun to her head, the son of a bitch. It was almost painful to walk calmly to them, but she was afraid that sudden movements would lead to him pulling the trigger.

The traitor smiled, a smug grin that caused vicious anger to well up inside of her chest. "Hello, Faith."

"Jacknife? But you couldn't-"

"Now, attitudes like that…that's exactly why I could."

Though she tried to keep the feelings from leaking into her words, her voice refused to remain level. "Who's behind this?" she growled.

That smile just grew larger. "Let's just say," he replied, "I know who the bigger fish are."

"Callaghan." The answer was simple; one word, three syllables. She never knew that such a simplistic word could spark so many emotions from her. When Jacknife didn't respond, she went on. "Why us? We're no threat!"

"Classic warfare." Faith made a move to hit him with her clenched fists, but he only pressed the gun harder against Kate's head. "Break the lines of communications, shoot the messengers. Without Pope, without the Runners, your clients – those who just _won't let go _of the old city – will be cut off. Vulnerable. Then this city can clean up the last of its…dregs."

He used his free hand to forcibly shove Kate to the helicopter. Their eyes met for one brief moment; Faith's heart sank once she saw the fear in her sister's face. Despite her best judgment, the world glittered in her vision, but she blinked the tears away with determination. She was going to save her. She just didn't know how at the moment.

It was a miracle that she was able to speak without wavering. "So this is just the beginning?" she said dryly.

"I prefer to think of it as an ending." He shrugged. How could he make such nonchalant gestures?

Because he thought he was unstoppable.

The first rule of being a Runner was to be fast. The second was to remember your vulnerabilities, to use your head and know that although you could fly across rooftops, you could also fall to the concrete below. It was a disgrace to make an irrational decision and go beyond the limits of luck. Being a messenger required skill, yes – Jacknife had that – but he failed to see the opportunity for gravity to seize him and bring him down to the city ground, smashing his bones and letting his blood create vividly red pools on the sidewalk. Being a Runner meant to be daring, but that was not the same as reckless.

Faith knew her limits. She'd bartered with Lady Luck and knew what she was and wasn't capable of. She _was_ going to beat him. He may have been the one with the gun, but she was smarter, and faster, and nothing was going to stop her.

Not even gravity.

"Still," he continued, "You did a remarkably good job of coaxing out all those loose ends surrounding Pope's…demise. It's why you're still alive."

She captured his gaze within her own and glared at him, ensnaring him within the fire in her eyes. "No. I'm still alive because I'm going to win this."

Jacknife was speechless for a moment, not even finding the words to spit out at her mockingly. That was when Kate became alive again, knocking his gun away and lifting up her arms once more to deliver a blow to the head.

She was too slow. He recovered quickly and slammed his fist into her face, a punishing hit that knocked her backwards onto the helicopter. Faith made another move, stepping forward to run at him, but he only gestured to the pistol before climbing on the bird. The wind made from the machine's propellers blew her hair into her drying eyes and obscured her vision, but even over the loud drone she could hear Jacknife say, "You can't spend your life on the edge, Faith. Sooner or later, you have to jump!"

She blinked to regain the moisture in her eyes, and from her spot in the center of the landing platform, she saw him getting away.

She couldn't let him. Kate was there. Kate was all that mattered.

Kate was all she had left.

The sound of footsteps caused her to whirl around and face the dozen blues pointing their assault rifles at her heart. But before they could lay their fingers on the triggers, she'd already spun in the other direction and began to dash away.

The heated moments rushing past her felt more like hours, like time was no longer running with her but slowing down instead. Her heartbeat pounded in her eardrums, piercing her brain like a police siren; her breath flew from her body and left her inhaling raggedly; yet her eyes never left the helicopter, and her feet never faltered. Even with the bullets tearing through her flesh and splattering crimson liquid all over the floor – because blood was _red_, and not _blue_ – she kept going. With one final leap off the edge of the building, she soared into the air.

For a moment, she thought she was going to fall. Then her fingers groped the metal bar on the side of the bird.

She almost wasn't aware of her movements, but she vaguely registered that she propelled her legs forward and hit Jacknife in the chest. When she stumbled into the helicopter, she felt the rounds he was firing whistle past her head as the poor, traitorous bastard fell to the earth.

He'd gotten in her way.

She hadn't even had a chance to look at her sister when the chopper began to spin around like a whirlwind. "Kate-"

Her reply was a shrill yell as her sister slipped across the floor and plummeted into the skyline. "Damn it!" Faith gritted her teeth against unshed tears and rushed to the open door. She wasn't falling was she falling please God don't let her be falling…

She wasn't falling. Even with the white gloves on, she could tell that Kate was gripping the side of the building with iron knuckles, making a desperate but futile attempt to lift herself up before she could no longer hold on. Her instincts jolted her away from the floor until she felt nothing but the familiar rush of wind that came with a jump.

She'd always wondered what it looked like to the citizens below. What did they think when they saw a silhouette flying across the buildings? Their whole lives had been centered around staying grounded, never feeling or perhaps never wishing to feel the adrenaline of a Run. Or maybe they'd never seen her at all. When she was on the streets, she'd always admired the figures in red; then again, spending numerous nights in alleyways rendered a person to be observant.

Surely people were watching now. Well, let them see. Let them see her turn their corrupted city into political shambles, revealing the ugly truth about the lie that they'd been leading since the protests ended. She was going to make a change, sooner or later, and it all had to start somewhere.  
But right now she had to make sure that Kate was safe. As she landed, sending a shock of pain coursing throughout her body, she spotted one of her sister's hands give out from the corner of her eye.

She'd never run so fast before.

The world blurred, but the touch of Kate's grip kept her clinging to reality. She'd made it. They'd both made it. "Faith…"

"I know." The gunshot wounds in her arm were screaming, and the Runner grimaced. "I got you. It's okay, it's all going to be okay." With a burst of will and effort, she gave a strong tug and hoisted the policewoman onto the rooftop.

She nearly collapsed into Kate's arms, pulling her close until there was no space in between the two. There was a long pause, interrupted only by the crash of the helicopter as it spiraled into the city streets. Finally, she spoke. "I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner."

Kate pulled away and put a hand to her cheek, delicately running a shaky thumb over the tarnished skin. "No, _I'm _sorry. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be hurt like this, and Merc…is he-"

Her mouth set itself into a thin line. "Yes, but that wasn't your fault."

"Oh, God." Her voice trembled audibly now, and she didn't bother to conceal it. "I'm so sorry, Faith, I really am."

Merc would've been proud of her, she was sure of it. She didn't let them win. They hadn't lost yet, but she'd started a battle that wasn't going to end until Project Icarus was annihilated and change had settled into the city, or she was dead. And the second wasn't going to happen.

"I told you, it wasn't your fault," she said. "But we need to get you somewhere safe. We still haven't cleared your name, and if anyone even _sees_ me, I'll be blown to bits."

There was a remorseful look etched into her sister's face. "I'm not a Runner. I can't do this."

"You're not a policewoman anymore," she snapped. "You don't have a choice." Her tone softened quickly, and a small smile replaced the emotionless expression she had before. "I believe in you, Kate. We can do this."

She returned the favor and grinned back. "…Thanks, Effy."

And they ran.

**Hey, look, I'm still alive! And a few years late to the Mirror's Edge party. :P By the way, sorry for the dialogue; I wanted to rewrite it, but I loved the original dialogue from the game, so I had to keep it in there. Thanks for reading! You deserve a cookie. Too bad I don't have any cookies that I'm not already hoarding. So instead I will give you this internet hug. *hugsquish***


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